1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to pet waste disposal. More particularly, it relates to a safe and automated apparatus for receiving and securing pet waste.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Pet waste, in particular that of felines, is burdensome for owners in having to clean and be exposed to the waste multiple times per day. The most popular conventional art tends to range from litter boxes to training a cat to use a toilet. Attempts, however unsuccessful, have also been made to provide an apparatus that secures pet waste in a manner such that the pet waste does not need to be cleaned as many times as just using a conventional litter box.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,365 to Moertel discloses an animal waste containment or disposer unit that includes a dish shaped area where an animal would dispose its waste. The dish shaped area is covered by a lining sheet. When the animal departs or is removed from the device, a second sheet is automatically disposed over top the first lining sheet, and the sheets are sealed to each other to enclose the waste material. The sealed sheets with enclosure can be removed via a cutting mechanism on the device or can be wound upon a reel for storage until subsequent removal. An animal deposits waste on the device in a particular area, the waste is sealed within a bagging, and the waste can be spun around a reel for storage.
PCT patent pub. No. WO/1996/010907 to Battistin describes sanitary hygienic device for the collection of waste from a pet, in particular a cat. Battistin teaches simple use of a receptacle that fits beneath a planar surface that has a hole in it leading into the receptacle. The receptacle may be lined with bagging and contains litter. Thus, after a cat has deposited waste material into the receptacle, the user can collect the bag and throw it into the garbage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,640 to Del Rosario discloses a conveyor that captures and secures waste in a take-up roller. The idea is that a horizontal conveyor made of Saran Wrap® sheet material would capture the waste material of a pet, such as a bird, and would feed from a first roller to a second roller and subsequently into a take-up roller underneath the second roller. The take-up roller receives the Saran Wrap and secures the waste material within the layers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,827,035 to Manera discloses a self-refreshening litter box that uses a conveyor to set and dispose of a continuous litter material. The litter material is “rolled out” into the surface onto which the pet would deposit its waste material. Thereupon, the litter material traverses through a series of gears to flatten it out and can be collected and secured in a spool.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,958,846 to Axelrod et al. discloses an apparatus using a feed roll and take-up roll coupled by an absorbent pad. The animal would deposit waste materials on the pad, and the pad would then traverse into the take-up roll. The pad includes a surface sealing feature, such that when the top surface of the pad contacts the bottom surface of the pad (on the take-up roll), the surface sealing feature produces a seal for the waste deposit therein.
U.S. patent app. pub. No. 2009/0241850 to Campbell et al. discloses a pet waste collection system that has a floor that receives pet waste on a film. The film is connected on one end of the floor to a wrapper cartridge and on the other end of the floor by a spool. The wrapper cartridge feeds film onto the floor, an animal deposits waste on the film, a sensor detects that the animal has left the device, and the spool automatically receives the film with waste. The spool secures the film and waste until replacement is needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,735 to Noroian discloses a portable commode for pets that essentially includes a tray covered by sand or sawdust (possibly litter) and an aperture leading to a bag at the end of the tray. A pet would simply deposit waste on the tray, and the user could rake the waste deposit into the bag through the aperture.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,190 to Rhodes discloses an animal litter box wherein the operation is enabled by a pet depositing waste into a bag, which is contained within a 180° rotatable housing to facilitate sealing and removal of the bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,018 to Mopper discloses a platform lined with a film and litter, upon which a pet can deposit waste. The film is connected on either side of the platform by a feed roller and take-up spool. When the pet has deposited waste, the feed roller feeds more film onto the platform as the used film is received by the take-up spool and rolled up. As the film is being rolled up into the spool, the waste and litter fall into a mesh screen to facilitate disposal. The apparatus further includes a hopper that feeds more litter onto the film as the film traverses along the platform.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,334 to Bassine discloses a platform lined with a film and litter, upon which a pet can deposit waste. The film is connected on either side of the platform by a feed roller and take-up spool. When the pet has deposited waste, the feed roller feeds more film onto the platform as the used film is received by the take-up spool and rolled up. The apparatus further includes a hopper that feeds more litter onto the film as the film traverses along the platform.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,900 to Kakuta discloses an automated portable pet toilet that is capable of separating liquid and solid waste and storing them separately for later storage. The apparatus includes a platform lined with a film and litter, upon which a pet can deposit waste. Liquid waste falls through apertures within the platform and is funneled into a liquid waste reservoir. Solid waste traverses with film via a series of gears and rollers. As the film is rolled into a spool, the solid waste falls into a solid waste reservoir.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,662,748 to Hanks discloses a litter box apparatus that essentially includes a container with an aperture in its top and a plurality of structures underneath the aperture. The apparatus would be laid on its side, a pet would climb through the aperture on the support structures and into the container that is lined with a bag and contains litter.
Though these attempts have been made, problems still exist, in particular ease of manufacture, ease of use, securement of the pet waste immediately upon deposit, continuous single bagging feeding into the system and wholly covering the pet waste as it is fed into the spool, among other problems associated with the conventional art.
Accordingly, what is needed is a pet waste containment system that is capable of fully covering the pet waste upon deposit and feeding the covered pet waste into a spool for easy replacement. However, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill how the art could be advanced.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate disclosure of the invention, Applicants in no way disclaim these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that the claimed invention may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.
The present invention may address one or more of the problems and deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. However, it is contemplated that the invention may prove useful in addressing other problems and deficiencies in a number of technical areas. Therefore, the claimed invention should not necessarily be construed as limited to addressing any of the particular problems or deficiencies discussed herein.
In this specification, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.